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**UNITED STATESNUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSIONOFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATIONWASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001**

April 20, 1998

**Addressees**

All holders of operating licenses for power reactors except those licensees that have permanently ceased operations andhave certified that the fuel has been permanently removed from the reactor vessel.

**Purpose**

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing this information notice to advise addressees of severalinstances of potential compromise of the integrity of operator licensing examinations. It is expected that recipients andindividuals with responsibility for development of initial operator licensing examinations will review the information forapplicability to their facilities and consider actions, as appropriate, to avoid similar problems. However, suggestionscontained in this information notice are not NRC requirements; therefore, no specific action or written response is required.

**Description of Circumstances**

Conditions of potential compromise of the integrity of operator licensing examinations requiring compensatory action onthe part of both facility licensees and the NRC have been identified in all NRC regions:

**Discussion**

Under the pilot program described in NRC Generic Letter 95-06, "Changes in the Operator Licensing Program," and itsSupplement, and in anticipation of a rule change to 10 CFR Part 55, some power reactor facility licensees have undertakena larger and more active role in the process of developing examinations through planning, drafting, and validation ofexaminations and test items. However, the more active role also increases the availability of and access to detailedexamination materials. These factors, combined with the longer period of exposure to examination planning and test items,introduce a concomitant increased vulnerability to inadvertent or deliberate compromise of the process, resulting inpotential challenges to the integrity of the examination.

NUREG-1021, Rev. 8, "Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors," Section ES-201, "Initial OperatorLicensing Examination Process," outlines examination security considerations that facility licensees may use to form thebasis for an effective security policy with associated administrative procedures for facility examinations. ES-201 providesfor facility licensee personnel and contractors working on the facility licensee's behalf to participate in the process fordeveloping examinations and to have prior detailed knowledge of examination content through a security agreement. Eachfacility licensee employee and contractor with access to the examination development process becomes party to thatagreement. Under the security agreement (Form ES-201-3, "Examination Security Agreement") no part of the examinationis to be divulged to anyone who has not been authorized by the NRC chief examiner. The examination security agreementalso describes possible consequences of violations, with which the NRC staff has dealt by replacing the materials that mayhave been compromised, delaying or canceling scheduled examinations, and taking enforcement action against theindividual or the facility licensee when appropriate. These actions are based on the requirements of 10 CFR 55.49, whichstate that applicants, licensees, and facility licensees shall not engage in any activity that compromises the integrity of anytest or examination. As noted in the Federal Register (62FR42426) publication of the proposed rule change, the NRCconsiders that a violation of 10 CFR 55.49 has occurred when "(1) a failure to control the integrity of an examinationoccurs such that there is a potential for an applicant to have an unauthorized advantage in the examination process or (2) anapplicant obtains an unauthorized advantage."

This information notice requires no specific action or written response. If you have any questions about the information inthis notice, please contact any of the technical contacts listed below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear ReactorRegulation (NRR) project manager.

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